this is CRAZY

[atr]

I recently tried to purchase a pistol which was advertised on this site.....
The $300.00 price was a good one and I was happy to pay...the seller was a great guy to work with...BUT

cost of FFL transfer ($50.00) plus the cost of UPS shipping ($60.00) raised the total price to 136% over the asking price. In short I was paying 36% over just for the paper work. Buyer and seller both agreed that this was CRAZY and we mutually agreed to cancel the sale.

[JDFuchs]

ya.. most shops around me wont do an FFL transfer for less then $40. One of them Wont do transfers for guns of the type they sell themselves at overinflated prices. There is one very nice and always so full of customers you can hardly get a good look at there rifle rack wall's (was that way a few years ago even). That will do them for $20.00. Shipping is just a monster in itself. My last package with USPS looked like it had been sat on! All you had to do was tip the box and the item would drop out. Lucky it was still in there and it was just a jell cushion or it would have been junk. Any time I see any on line or distant deal of an FFL item I mentally tag on $50 to the price before I consider it. =(

[Jon K]

atr,

It's worse here...........California.

Jon

[mike in co]

need someone to go read the usps regulations. we are looking for fine print.
i believe dealers can ship handguns usps, use priority mail and it is now 10-12 bucks to ship a handgun.
just something in the back of my head......

now what the dealer charges is up to them.

do a search on shotgun news..they have a dealer transfer list.

mike in co

[montana_charlie]

Go to this page on the Gun Broker site http://www.gunbroker.com/User/DealerNetwork.asp
Type in your zipcode and let it search for FFL holders in your area.

I typed in 98070, and got a huge list. One of them, read at random, said they do transfers for $20 per form...not per gun. They said you could transfer three guns for $20.

CM

[MT Gianni]

My local pawn shop charges $10. USPS will ship dealer to dealer, a recent purchase fron TX via fed-ex ran under $25.

[JIMinPHX]

I can get a local dealer to do a transfer for $25. I've had an out of state FFL send a handgun to him via USPS for less than $10. The flat rate box comes to mind.

[quasi]

you need to go through a dealer to sell a pistola out of state in America? Even here in Kanada we can just use the mail system, person to person.

[trickyasafox]

remember you can do long guns via USPS- saves some cash there. even a big ol rifle insured to the hilt ran me less than 20 bucks

[Buckshot]

you need to go through a dealer to sell a pistola out of state in America? Even here in Kanada we can just use the mail system, person to person.

.................Yup, that's a federal law. Simply and without the if's, ands, or buts, handguns and post 1898 rifles and shotguns travel only dealer to dealer. Any citizen may send and receieve a pistol or rifle they own to a gunsmith, or to the factory. States have other laws on top of that. Here in California there are no private party transactions. They all have to go through a dealer and you pay the fees.

..............Buckshot

[PatMarlin]

But,...but..

[quasi]

wow, I didn't imagine all this in America. The ATF must love this maze of laws, not to mention the legal profession.

[yondering]

.................Yup, that's a federal law. Simply and without the if's, ands, or buts, handguns and post 1898 rifles and shotguns travel only dealer to dealer. Any citizen may send and receieve a pistol or rifle they own to a gunsmith, or to the factory. States have other laws on top of that. Here in California there are no private party transactions. They all have to go through a dealer and you pay the fees.

..............Buckshot

Buckshot, generally I agree with you but in this case it's just not true. It's not a federal law, it's a post office rule. Maybe in Kalifornia, but in the rest of the USA, an individual can ship handguns to a dealer via UPS or Fedex, no dealer required on the shipper's end unless you use USPS. Same for rifles, but maybe you can ship through USPS too, i'm not sure on that one.
Trouble is UPS or Fedex charge as much as dealer fees plus USPS shipping in many cases.

[nicholst55]

wow, I didn't imagine all this in America. The ATF must love this maze of laws, not to mention the legal profession.

And if ATF doesn't like the law, they just reinterpret it at their whim! They really, really need to have someone in authority jerk a knot in their chain and curb them. It probably will never happen short of a revolution, though.

[DrNick]

Yay for Canada...for once.

The government waived the transfer fees (used to be $25.00) a few years back. As soon as the transfer is processed the CFC (regulatory body for firearms in Canada) approves you to ship (or recieve) the firearms directly. Long arms (most but not all) are approved the same day, handguns (and some 'restricted-class' longarms) can take from a few days to a few weeks depending on the province involved. Shipping is by regular parcel post.....rarely more then $25.00 or so.

Huh...who'd have think it......

[Wicky]

Transfers into Alice Springs (Australia) cost around A$30 per firearm. Most of us get them sent to the Police Station - no cost for the transfer. The cops hate it but the Pollies have made it a cost so one goes where it is cheapest.
Freight isn't too bad - about A$20 per firearm.
Ammo and powder are our biggest problem - these must be freighted by an explosives company in an approved vehicle and as there are no gun shops in town anymore it is a small fortune to bring them to town. Last cost was $120 for 100 rounds of ammo and $150 for freight!
Most of us here get someone going on holidays to do a bulk buy for a number of us.

[quasi]

man that is expensive! If I remember correctly, your town is a little " off the beaten path" even for OZ?

[Wicky]

I think because we live in the middle of Australia we deserve to be reamed!!
Pretty much 1500kms to the nearest gun shop and 500 kms to the next town.
I usually do my buying once a year for powder and primers. I don't remember the last time I bought factory ammo.

[jdowney]

Buckshot, generally I agree with you but in this case it's just not true. It's not a federal law, it's a post office rule. Maybe in Kalifornia, but in the rest of the USA, an individual can ship handguns to a dealer via UPS or Fedex, no dealer required on the shipper's end unless you use USPS. Same for rifles, but maybe you can ship through USPS too, i'm not sure on that one.
Trouble is UPS or Fedex charge as much as dealer fees plus USPS shipping in many cases.

I believe you can mail rifles and shotguns to a private party within the same state, IF the state allows private party sales. USPS reg, not ATF.

[Char-Gar]

A dealer can mail a handgun or rifle to another dealer in or out of state via USPS. An individual may mail a rifle out of state to be repaired or customized and have it mailed back to him. However an individual may not mail a rifle to another to transfer ownership. That still must go through a FFL. In theory you could mail a long gun instate for any purpose and not violate Federal Law, but Postal Regulations won't allow to accept any firearm for ownership transfer without it being a FFL to FFL transfer.

If you have an instate package service, you can send/sell firearms as long as it doesn't leave your state and doesn't violate the carriers policy. In Texas we have Lone Star Package service which goes to most places and will take a firearm for less than $20.00. You could also do it via bus freight, but Greyhound and others have a policy against shipping firearms. If you don't disclose it is a firearm to the carrier, you are in violation of Federal law.

Federal regulation say you must disclose to the carrier the contents if it is a gun. I used to just lable it "Precision Machinery" but that really won't cut it. Today I would list "S&WMod16" or CPFATROOPER". That is truthful, but most clerks won't catch it, not being gun savy. If you are truthful and the clerks are stupid, that is not your concern, but a training issue for the carrier.

The long and short of it, is if you are transfering ownership of a handgun to someone in another state, you must be a dealer to dealer transfer and there really is no way of getting around it. It is possible to hand deliver long guns for sale in other states, but they must be states which adjoin yours.

Shipping handguns out of state for repair still requires the use of UPS, FedX or the like. UPS makes you send them next day air, because there is no much stealing. That is why the shipping is so heavy. However firearms parts can go regular ground. I remove enough parts to make it non-functional and send it regular ground. I do label it firearms parts - non functional.

You can't mail handgun receivers ,with a serial number to anybody for repair or work. But you can ship them UPS as parts, not to circumvent the law but to get around UPS regulation for next day air shipment of working firearms.

[KCSO]

You know I am of two minds about this. I use to charge $10 for paperwork fee on transfers. But I had one fellow who never bought anything from ME. he was ordering and shipping 2 or 3 guns a month and I got to do the paperwork on them. He called 3 times a day to see if his latest buy was in, if it was unpacked and if he could come in after hours or on Sunday to get the gun. When I had the Flu he called to berate me because I didn't go the the post office that day to pick up HIS package. If I am going to put up with that S#!T I ant $50 too.

Then you have the loyal customer who want to get his gun back from his son out of State... Hey for a guy like that I would do it to promote his business.

As to shipping, Customer #1 wants his gun NOW and expects that if I have a gun coming for him it should be there TOMORROW...cost $40. Customer #2 will be patient with the US Mule and he gets his in in 5-6 days... Cost $18 average.

The rub is that there are more and more #1's and less #2's so a lot of guys are setting #1 prices.

[Old Ironsights]

Buckshot, generally I agree with you but in this case it's just not true. It's not a federal law, it's a post office rule. Maybe in Kalifornia, but in the rest of the USA, an individual can ship handguns to a dealer via UPS or Fedex, no dealer required on the shipper's end unless you use USPS. Same for rifles, but maybe you can ship through USPS too, i'm not sure on that one.
Trouble is UPS or Fedex charge as much as dealer fees plus USPS shipping in many cases.

Also, an individual may send handguns to HIMSELF via USPS. Did that when I moved from AK to WA.

They have to go to the main Post Office and be retrieved/signed for there, but it's legal... or at least was in 1995.

[StarMetal]

I think, let me say that again, I think, that folks use to be more patient in the old days because today we have tracking for most of the major carriers on the internet. Don't you think those services change a person? I do. Off topic but how many of you think that Shotgun News changed things for the worse when it got into the hands of the general non licensed public?

Joe

[jdowney]

Off topic but how many of you think that Shotgun News changed things for the worse when it got into the hands of the general non licensed public?

Having never held a license, and not planning to ever hold one, I'll point out that I think the change for the worse was in 1968 :mrgreen: